Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1887-01-20
OVER THE RAIL.
The Train on the Audubon Branch
or the Rock Island Goes
Into the Ditch.
No Injury to Human Life. Slight
Damage to Rolling Stock.
The Northwestern Train Meets
with q Similar Accident 1t
the Switch this Morning,

OF NO. 1870 and lack Dennis III the
coach requiring passengers to pro.
duce good aud sufficient reason why
they should be allowed to travel
thereon, which evidence he properly
perforated and concealed about his
robust person. No Instructions were
until the train was with
in two miles of Lorah, where a cut
contained bank Of snow one foot
deep and fifteen feet long. No trout
bic was anticipated and Gray pro-
ceeded to push through, but was not
a little amazed to see the front trucks
roll up onto the bank and then slide
down onto the ties. The drivers,
ten Ter and two stock cars, three box
cars and the coach followed the
trucks. The train ran on the ties a
distance of 900 yards, when the en-
CINE ani two cars of stock LETT the
ties and were thrown on their sides.
When Engineer Gray saw the inev.
table result he whislled for brakes,
reversed the engine, told the fireman
to jump, and made leap tor safety.
The motion Of the train was so slow
that in alighting Gray was not
thrown from his feet, but continued
on run. Fireman Dorgan did not
jump until the engine was topping
over, thus taking a risk that could
not possibly lessen the chances of
danger to the train and greatly im-
perilled his own life. 1t was all so
quietly accomplished that the occu.
pants of the coach did not know the
engine was derailcd until they went
to learn the cause of the signals.
After Gray jumped from the cab the
train passed him; he saw Conductor
Dennis and the brakemen twisting
brakes, but they did not observe him
and when they went forward to the
PROSTATE engine they expected to
find him in the wreck. The scene
all about the engine was envelopcd
in a mis-, Of escaping steam and Gray
could not see his associates but heard
them calling, g ohm! John! are you
therep The sensations he expert
enced while hearing his name called
under such peculiar circumstances
can better be imagined than describ-
ed, but when the mists had rolled
away, he gave horizontal wave of
his hand and with CLEAN of salts
faction in his eye, answered, "Not
much, Mary Annr'grcatly to the re.
lief Of his anxious friends.
The cab and other wood work of
the engine is badly shattered, but
none of the machinery is broken SO
as to cripple the engine from being
pulled to the shops at Stuart. The
two stock cars containing hogs were
little damaged. The hogs, the prop
erty of Wheeler & Nef, were not
mangled or bruised, but sixteen were
suilocated.
The cause Of the accident is obvi-
Gus. 1t will be remembered that
Sunday forenoon was very warm
and that snow melted. The melt.
ing snow sank to the bottom Of the
drift and the intense cold Of Sunday
night froze It so hard as to make il
almost impregnahle, and so that it
resisted the immense weight Of the
engine. The wrecking train that
came TO the rescue met similar ac-
cidcni one mile from the scene de-
scrihed. They encountered a drift
two feet in depth, but having heard
the details Of the accident, approach
cd il very cautiously. The trucks Of
the thirty ton engine mounted the
two-ioot bank aud the crew was
detained for an hour AMI a half cut
ting away the ice 50 that the engine
might settle back onto the rails.
After the Audubon train had left
the rail and was running on the ties
il crossed twclve.foot bridge,
which speaks exceedingly well for
the construction of the road, as It is
usually the result in such cases that
the weight Of the engine will crash
through the ties and piling as If they
were pine sticks.
For seventeen years, the first Of
February, John Gray has risked tho
many dangers Of railroading; as
never missed the pay car but once,
and never before has he been in any
way involved in an accident Of any
account. He is paiustaking em-
p'oye, ever watchful OF the interests
Of the company, the crew and passen-
gers. For eight years Of that time
he was on an engine that pulled a
passenger train where hundreds Of
lives daily depended upon his watch
fulness for safety. From that run
he acquitted himself with high hon.
ors, and in his four years service on
this branch not the slightest accident
has ever occurred. No brakeman
or other employe ha> ever received
an injury while working about his
tram. In this accident not the
slightest blame can attach to MIR.
Gray or any Of the train men. II
was simply an accident without
precedent and which the most ex-
perienced could not prevent. Mr..
Gray has a record of which he may
well take pride, and which certainly
makes him deserving Of escape from
injury in the inevitable accident OF
Monday,
AS the Northwestern train was
pulling into Audubon, this morning,
the engine, tender, baggage car and
coach left the track at the switch.
1t is believed that the switch was
half open, but the evidence is not
clear on that point, and the true
cause is yet in uncertainty. The
switch was unlocked and could have
been easily tempered with by any
person so wantonly disposed. The
engine, No. e62, was put on this
line this week and was badly
wrecked and good many pieces
broken in the accident. One rail
was broken and the track torn up